After Spain struggled to create scoring chances in the first 45 minutes, Del Bosque took off defender Nacho Monreal for another playmaker in Andres Iniesta and later sent on Negredo for Michu.
Spain continued to probe and the breakthrough came when Pique blindly lobbed the ball backward from near the end line. After Belarus' Egor Filipenko grazed it, the ball fell perfectly for Xavi to drive in a low right-footed strike.
